Bread-cutter



(No Model.) 2 Sheets-Sheet 2. L. R. QUIGG.

BREAD GUTTER.

No. 495,999. y Patented ApnZ, 1893.

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UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

LEWIS R. QUIGG, OF SPRING CITY, ASSIGNOR OF ONE-HALF TO SAMUEL S.

WELLS, OF ROYERSFORD, PENNSYLVANIA.

BREAD-CUTTER.

SPECIFICATION formingpart of Letters Patent N o. 495,999, dated April 25, 1893.

Appncation fired May 25,1892.

To all whom t may concern,.-

Be it known that I, LEWIS R. QUIGG, a citizen of the United States, residing at Spring City, in the county of Chester and State of Pennsylvania, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Bread-Cutters; and I do hereby declare the following to be la full, clear, and exact description of the invention, such as will enable others skilled in the art to which it appertains to make and use the same.

In hotels, restaurants, cafs, and other eating houses, where large quantities of bread are consumed there has long been felt a want of some machine or implement whereby the cutting or slicing of the loaves, which is now usually done with a case knife by hand, could be expedited, and whereby the slices could be cut evenly and of uniform thickness without sacrificing the speed of the operation.

The object of my invention is to provide an implement to meet this demand; and the invention consistsin the construction illustrated in the accompanying drawings and described and claimed in the following specification.

Referring to the drawings, Figure I is a per spective view of the entire machine. Fig. 2 is a view of the knife and guard and holder in perspective. Fig. 3 is a detail of the connection between the knife and guard.

A denotes a rectangular, vertical frame, having ears or lugs a, at the bottom, by means of which it may be secured to a table or stand. In the annexed drawings it is represented as portable, being attached to a board B, but it will probably be found best to permanently secure it to a bench or table. The lower part of the frame is furnished with a sliding crumb box or receptacle C, and vabove the box the frame is provided on its front .si-de with a trough-like shelf S to support and hold the loaf in position while being cut. Opposite this shelf an opening is cut in the front and rear side plates A of the frame, as shownrin Fig. l, for the passage of the slices of bread as they are severed by the knife. The sides of the frame are provided with grooves g on the interior, and in these grooves slide and are guided the knife D and the hand guard E, which will now be described. The knife is preferably spear shaped as shown in Fig. 2,

Serial No. 434,252. (No model.)

and has a shank or stem I which passes out through a guide aperture b in the top of the frame. To further guide the knife arod .I is secured to the back of the frame, and extends up above the same; and the stem of the knife is connected therewith by a clip or plate c, which is sleeved on the rod so as to slide freely thereon, and is connected to the upper end of the stem I.-

The hand guard and loaf holder E is a fiat plate extending from side to side of the frame and sliding in the front groove g. It has a toothed or corrugated lower edge e, and a shank or stem f similar to that of the knife. At the top of the stem there is fixed an angular plate h having on its under side buffers t' of rubber or other suitable material. The purpose of this plate and buffers will be explained later on.

F denotes an abutment or stop plate, sliding in a groove d on the back side of the plate in much the same manner as the guard plate. The purpose of this plate is to form astop for the loaf of bread, and to determine the thickness of the slice to be out. It is operated by means hereinafter described so as to be raised in front of the opening in the frame when the knife is elevated, and is lowered to a point below the lioor of the shelf S when the slice has been cut, so as to permit the same to pass out and fall onto the table or Whatever receptacle is provided for it.

The mechanism for operating the knife is as follows: H denotes a bracket arm secured to one side of the frame. To the outer end of this bracket is pivoted the hand lever L, extended as shown across the rear face of the frame and having a handle at the opposite end in convenient reach of the operator. K is alink or connecting rod pivotally connected to the lever, and at its upper end connected to the shank of the knife, the connection being preferably made by pivoting the end of the rod to a pin p projecting from the sliding clip c secured to the upper part of the stem I. The stem I of the knife passes through ahole j in the plate h on the end of the shank f of the guard E. A cross piece T is fixed at its opposite ends in the sides of the frame at the upper part, the purpose being to limit the IOO downward movement of the guard and to eupportthe same. The plate h, as shown in Fig. 2, overlies the piece T, and as the guard descends the buffers contact therewith. The object of passingthe stem of the knife through the plate is to guide the shank of the guard E and to prevent the plate h from becoming disengaged from the cross piece T. The guard is raised by upper edge k of the knife blade coming in contact with the under side of the plate 71.. The abutment F is operated from the hand lever L by means of the connecting rod N, pivoted at its upper end to the lever, and bent at its lower end so as not to obstruct the opening in the frame, and connected pivotally to the center of the plate. The bracket I-I is provided with a finger or tang t, serving to guide and protect the rod. A set screw s is tapped into the rear plate A of the frame, the end of the screw being in position to bear on the knife or its shank when screwed up, and hold the parts in elevated position.

The operation of the device will be readily understood. When the parts are at rest the to be cut is taken in the left hand and slid on the shelf under the knife until it comes up against the abutment F. Upon the depression of the handle, the guard descends with and abreast of the point of the knife until it rests .the knife and a guard or loafholder, of avertically movable abutment plate arranged and operating with the knife so that its top edge is always below the cutting edge of the knife,

substantially as described.

2. In a bread cutter, the combination of the frame A, the shelf S, the knife D, the abutment or stop-plate F, and the guard-plate E, with mechanism for operating the same, consisting of the pivoted lever L, the connectlng rods K, N, the stems J, f, the latter having the plate h, substantially as described.

3. A bread cutter, consisting of the frame A, the shelf S, the knife D, the stop-plate F, the guard-plate E, the pivoted lever L, the guide rod J, the connecting rods K, N, the cross-piece T, and the stemsI and f, the latter having the plate h, all as and for the purpose described.

In testimony whereof I ax my signature in presence of two witnesses.

LEWIS R. QUIGG.

Witnesses:

AMBRosE COX, DAVID SPRINGER. 

